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The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to two cola majors -- Pepsi and Coca Cola -- on the allegation of Solicitor General Harish Salve that they have painted their advertisements on the rock faces of ecologically fragile Himalayas on the Manali-Rohtang road in Himachal Pradesh.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice B N Kirpal, Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Arijit Pasayat issued the notices when an application was moved by Salve in his capacity as amicus curiae in the forest matter cases.
Citing an Indian Express news report 'Rape of the Rocks', Salve said the advertisements of soft drinks of the two cola majors have been plastered on the entire mountainside putting in peril the ecology of the area and in violation of provisions of various laws.
"These mountain facades are highly eco-fragile and have a huge eco-system. There is moss that grows on the rocks. There are also innumerable species of micro-organism which are dependant on these rocks," he said, adding that painting of the rock surfaces have completely destroyed these species.
Salve sought a direction from the Court to National Environment Engineering Research Institute to inspect the stretch of road between Manali-Rohtang, particularly by advertisements and other similar activities, which have been carried on in the area.
Salve also requested the Court to direct the Himachal Pradesh government to put a stop to the activity of painting on the rocks or any other affixation of advertisements in the eco-sensitive Manali-Rohtang area.
He said the damage caused on these rocks in the forest areas by these advertisements were 'near irreversible'.
"This is because of the reason that trying to wash off the paints with gallons and gallons of thinner would again be hazardous to the ecology of the area," Salve added.
The amicus curiae submitted that from the village Kothi to Rallah waterfalls to Beas Kund, a stretch of about 56 kilometres, advertisements have been plastered on the entire mountainside.
Terming plastering of the rock faces with advertisements as a non-forest activity, Salve said as the entire land in question belonged to the state's forest department and governed by the Indian Forest Act and Forest Conservation Act such activities could not be carried out without prior permission of the Union government.
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